The Puppeteer of Life and Death
by MaxDark
Summary: Jacob and Rachel talk to a new agent about all their encounters with a mysterious geneticist, known only as...Geppetto


_Science genius Dr. Jacob Hood and special FBI agent Rachel Young are in a race against time to stop any more deaths occurring as the learn of a person who is capable of cloning humans, a geneticist known only as…_

Geppetto

As he walked through the doorway he was wary that his enemy could be lying in wait somewhere ready to spring. The air in the room was cool, the same temperature a hospital room would have to be. He heard soft breaths and walked slowly to the next room, where he could see hospital equipment set up. There, on a table was the woman he had come to be careful about, she looked innocent upon the table.

"You can wake up now," he called softly. He watched her slowly open her eyes.

"Is it done?" she asked.

"Yah, I'd say it's done," he replied casually, "this time, you were the patient, Miranda. So you cloned those babies for yourself. She's safe, and with her new mother."

"You would sacrifice my ability for a cloned infant?"

"She has a name, Esperanza, and yes, I would trade your ability for an insect"

"Jacob Hood, always the savior."

"Would you mind calling me Dr. Hood? I don't know you that well."

"I could teach you everything I know if you help me."

"That's quite the offer, Geppetto, but I think I'll pass, for unlike you, I have a soft spot for human beings," he replied, giving his answer like any other. He got up and walked away, before he could leave the makeshift hospital curtains Geppetto made one more scorn of his intelligence.

"You are a coward, Dr. Hood, you play at being a good man, but you will never be great," she said, her voice heavy with hatred. He paused at this, thinking over his options before he answered.

"I can live with that," he replied, and walked away.

"Miranda Cochran, A.K.A. Geppetto, you are under arrest."

Later that night Jacob and Rachel met Ray who was now out of the hospital, his face still bandaged from an earlier encounter he had had with one of Geppetto's key operatives, Leo Muller.

"Jacob, what really happened?" asked Ray, curious about what had happened while he was in his hospital bed.

Hood remembered quite well the occurrences of it.

Standing around the table were three figures, called here to the border of Mexico to investigate a curious and scientific case.

"Spot the difference," said a man with black curly hair, handing three sheets to one of his companions, a man with short cropped brown hair.

"I can't," the man replied

"That's because, agent Rays, what you picked up on your routine bust, was three cloned infants."

"Cloned? Did you just say cloned?" the man addressed as Ray replied with shock and disbelief.

"A cloning operation this sophisticated can only mean one thing," the black haired man said to the women standing across from him. In one word she gave the answer.

"Geppetto," replied the women, causing the man to nod.

"Who the heck is Geppetto?" asked the still shocked agent Ray.

"Hood there's a fourth baby out there," said the women.

"Rachel," the man replied with concern and objective in his voice," we have to find that baby, and when we do, it's going to lead us straight to Geppetto."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" came Ray's voice, only now able to get a reply.

"Geppeto is the alias of a black market geneticist we tracked down a while back in Seattle," replied the women.

"And this Geppetto got away?"

"Yes"

The end of the memory bringing Jacob back to reality as Ray finally understood.

"Tell me more about the Seattle incident."

Jacob remembered it well, the night was cold and stormy, with no hint of life or warmth, as if all the happiness had left and forgotten to come back, the sounds of him and his companion's footsteps echoing through the halls of the hospital. His companion was a young blond woman called Rachel Young, and much more skilled than she looked, probably why she was a special FBI agent hired to protect the FBI science advisor, Dr. Jacob Hood. Finally they came to a door with a glow coming through. They saw a blond woman probably in her fifties trying to help a young woman. Noticing them she explained.

"I was walking by and someone told me to help, I'll need a oxygen mask."

As Rachel walked through the storage room she caught a hint of motion in the reflection of the glass refrigerator, instinctively she spun around, catching her attackers hands. Rachel struggled to gain control of her attacker's weapon, a scalpel, the woman attacking her had ear level, dirty blood red hair. Taking her only option Rachel slammed her forehead into her attackers, causing momentary surprise, wasting no time in using this to her advantage she swung the woman into the glass refrigerator where she fell to the floor unconscious.

Back in the operating room Dr. Hood and the doctor fought for the young girl's life.

"We're losing too much time, how are we going to save her and her baby," said Jacob, not really as a question.

"She lost him a long time ago," replied the doctor to Hood's surprise,

"How did you know it was a boy?" he asked, but then realization hit, "You're Geppeto."

"I'll leave her to you," replied Geppetto before walking off.

"So you're just going to leave her here?" said Jacob.

"Playing God does have its disadvantages," Geppetto replied, "Oh, and it was nice to finally meet you Dr. Hood."

"So that was the first time you met Geppetto and Leo face to face," came Ray's voice.

"Yes, but Geppetto's work is far from over, her organization is still out there, and they're probably going to want Geppetto back, whatever it takes," replied Dr. Hood

"Come on, you should be happier, most agents work their whole career to work a ten most wanted case," said Rachel.

"Well, me not being an agent means I don't look forward to that kind of thing. But when I held that cloned infant in my hands, for a second I had a feeling of what it must be like for Geppetto, God-like, powerful, and it made me dizzy, if this is really where we're headed, I don't want a part of it."

Just then Jacob's cell rang, quick to answer he soon placed it in his pocket and got up, motioning for Rachel to do the same.

"We have a new case," Hood answered.

"What kind?" Rachel implored.

"A delicate one."


End file.
